the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

Of the 50 local people interviewed, only one person stated that he was a full-time
commercial fisherman who relied predominantly on catching and selling fish to make
a living. A further 3 people stated that they sometimes caught and sold fish
commercially to supplement their incomes. The fish was sold both to local villagers
and tourist facilities in the Okavango region.
In the smaller, more rural villages in the Okavango Delta region, traditional fishing
methods are still used by many of the inhabitants. These include fish funnels and
kraal and corral traps, mud-wall capture methods, fish fences with valved traps and
corrals, woven scoop baskets, push baskets, bows and arrows, set fish hooks and
spears. Modern equipment consists of gill, morden and seine nets, line and hooks,
wire mesh tykes and mosquito nets. In the Delta, approximately 46 percent of the
fishermen fish with line and hooks, 42 percent with traditional baskets, 14 percent
with nets, 9 percent with spears and 6 percent with traps (Odell, 1976; Mendelsohn
and el Obeid, 2004).
In the Okavango Delta around 3200 people are reported to fish, 99 percent of whom
are small-scale fishermen who catch for domestic consumption. The highest
concentration of fishermen is in the Panhandle area as access to permanent water is
much easier than elsewhere where most settlements are further from fishing
grounds. The total weight of fish caught per year in the Delta generally does not
exceed 400 tonnes: 270 tonnes caught by subsistence fishing and 130 tonnes by
commercial fishermen (Mendelsohn and el Obeid, 2004).
The traditional fishing methods have been proven to be more ecologically sound as
only certain sizes of fish are caught, enabling the fish populations to sustain
themselves. For example, traditional woven fishing baskets, unlike modern fishing
nets, have a loose weave, which allows the smaller fish (including juvenile fish) to
escape from the baskets, helping to ensure the re-population of the Delta.
Fishing activities have changed significantly over the years in Botswana. One such
change has been in the development of commercial fisheries and the expanding use
of 'modern fishing' methods. Increasingly, traditional fishing methods and equipment,
such as woven fishing baskets are being replaced by gill, mosquito and morden
nets. Motor boats now allow fishermen to travel to areas throughout the
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